Prayer Corner

Third Hour Prayers

O Lord, Who sent down Your most holy Spirit upon Your Apostles at he third hour; take Him not from us, O Good One, but rather renew Him in us who pray to You.

Prayer of St. Mardarius

O Sovereign God, the Father Almighty, O Lord, the Only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and You, O Holy Spirit, one Godhead, one Power, have mercy on me, a sinner , and by the judgments which You know, save me, Your unworthy servant: for You are blessed forever and ever. Amen.

Orthodox Reading Room

Having fulfilled Forty Days... we ask to see the Holy Week of Thy Passion." With these words sung at Vespers of Friday, Lent comes to its end and we enter into the annual commemoration of Christ's suffering, death and Resurrection. It begins on the Saturday of Lazarus. The double feast of Lazarus' resurrection and the Entrance of the Lord to Jerusalem (Palm Sunday) is described in liturgical texts as the "beginning of the Cross" and is to be understood therefore, within the context of the Holy Week. The common Troparion of these days explicitly affirms that by raising Lazarus from the dead Christ confirmed the truth of general resurrection. It is highly significant that we are led into the darkness of the Cross by one of the twelve major feasts of the Church. Light and joy shine not only at the end of Holy Week but also at its beginning. All those familiar with Orthodox worship know the peculiar, almost paradoxical character of Lazarus Saturday services. Read more...

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Daily Prayers

"When you pray, try to let the prayer reach your heart; in other words, it is necessary that your heart should feel what you are talking about in your prayer, that it should wish for the blessing for which you are asking.... Observe, during prayer, whether your heart is in accord with that which you are saying." - St. John of Kronstadt

Sayings From The Church Fathers

So that we will not think that we are doing something great through our ascetic efforts and our many sighs and tears, we are given knowledge of the sufferings of Christ and His saints...For by contemplating the numberless trials that the saints joyfully accepted and the many sufferings that the Lord endured on our behalf, we become aware of our own feebleness.